*A note regarding CD Baby Pro Publishing

Some streaming services like Amazon Music Unlimited and Pandora Premium require full publishing licensing before making music available in the U.S. This ensures royalties are paid correctly. If your tracks aren’t appearing, it’s usually because publishing rights aren’t fully cleared for all songwriters.

Why do some platforms require full licensing?

• Services such as Amazon Music Unlimited and Pandora Premium need:
  • Mechanical licenses for each song.
  • Publishing representation for all songwriters.
• Membership in a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) like ASCAP or BMI does not cover mechanical licenses.
• CD Baby Pro Publishing Administration can handle these requirements for you.

How can I make my music live on these platforms?

• Use CD Baby Pro for publishing administration.
  • Ensures all songs are registered with a PRO and have publishing representation.
• If you or your co-writers lack publishers, these platforms may not make your music live.
• After completing a Pro submission:
  • Registration with PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN, etc.) typically takes 2–3 months.
  • Same timeline applies if you register manually via services like Music Reports, Inc.
• Once your songs appear in your PRO or Music Reports account:
  • Contact CD Baby to redeliver your content to these platforms.

Amazon Music specifics

• Amazon offers three services:
  • Amazon Prime Music – curated library; inclusion is at Amazon’s discretion.
  • Amazon Music Unlimited – streaming-only.
  • Amazon Music MP3 Store – download-only.
• CD Baby delivers your music to:
  • Amazon MP3 Store if you select Downloads Only, Downloads and Streaming, or Do It All Even Unpaid.
  • Amazon Music Unlimited if you select streaming options and have full publishing licensing.
• Playback on smart devices (Alexa, Echo) depends on Amazon Prime’s curated library, which distributors cannot guarantee.

Things to Note

• Full licensing requirements may expand to other platforms as industry standards evolve.
• CD Baby Pro is the easiest way to meet these requirements and avoid delays.

*A note regarding CD Baby Pro Publishing

The CD Baby Pro Publishing service was discontinued as of August 8th, 2023. Any paid release which was signed up for CD Baby Pro Publishing prior to August 8th, 2023 is considered a Legacy Pro release and will continue to receive Pro Publishing services. CD Baby now offers a new expanded suite of revenue amplifiers called “CDB Boost” instead.